Pakistan

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MQM-P leader comes out all guns blazing against imposition of Ajrak-themed number plates of vehicles

Fast bowlers Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman rocked Pakistan for 110 before opener Parvez Hossain hit an unbeaten 50 as Bangladesh won the first Twenty20 international by seven wickets in Dhaka on Sunday. Taskin finished with 3-22 while Rahman grabbed 2-6 in his four economical overs to dismiss the visitors in 19.3 overs for Pakistan’s lowest total against Bangladesh in all T20Is. Parvez smashed five sixes and three boundaries in his 39-ball 56 not out to help the home team chase down the target in 15.3 overs, taking a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Debutant Pakistan pacer Salman Mirza (2-23) jolted Bangladesh with wickets of Tanzid Hasan (one) and Litton Das (one) early on but Parvez and Towhid Hridoy (36) added 73 for the third wicket to ease up the chase. It was only Bangladesh’s fourth win over Pakistan in 23 T20Is. For Pakistan, opener Fakhar Zaman top-scored with a 34-ball 44, which included six boundaries and a six, while Abbas Afridi scored 22 and Khushdil Shah 17. Pakistan’s previous lowest T...

Security forces killed nine terrorists and captured another eight during a four-day joint operation with police, the Counter Terrorism Department, paramilitary organisations and the district administration in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Malakand district, the military’s media wing said in a statement on Sunday. Pakistan has witnessed an uptick in terror activities over the past year, especially in KP and Balochistan, after the proscribed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) ended its ceasefire with the government in November 2022. According to the Inter-Services Public Relations, the joint intelligence-based operation was conducted on the reported presence of terrorists belonging to Fitna Al Khawarij — a term used to designate members of the banned TTP. “During the conduct of operation, spread over four days, [our] own forces skillfully surrounded and effectively engaged the khawarij location, and after intense multiple fire exchanges, nine Indian-sponsored khawarij were sent to hell, while eight [others] were apprehend...

Iranian authorities have urged residents to limit water consumption as the country grapples with severe shortages amid an ongoing heatwave, local media said on Sunday. Water scarcity is a major issue in Iran, particularly in arid provinces in the country’s south, with shortages blamed on mismanagement and overexploitation of underground resources, as well as the growing impact of climate change. On Saturday, the national meteorological service said Iran was experiencing its hottest week of the year so far, with temperatures exceeding 50­ degrees Celsius in some areas. Government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani announced in a post on X on Sunday that Tehran province would observe a public holiday on Wednesday due to the ongoing heatwave. “In light of the continued extreme heat and the necessity of conserving water and electricity, Wednesday … has been declared a holiday in Tehran Province,” she wrote. Temperatures in Tehran reached 40°C on Sunday, with a further rise to 41°C forecast for Monday, according to me...

US President Donald Trump might visit China before going to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit between October 30 and November 1, or he could meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC event in South Korea, The South China Morning Post reported on Sunday, citing multiple sources. The two countries have been trying to negotiate an end to an escalating tit-for-tat tariff war that has upended global trade and supply chains. The two sides have discussed a potential meeting between the leaders in the region this year, but they have not confirmed a date or location yet, according to a person familiar with the matter. Trump has sought to impose tariffs on US importers for virtually all foreign goods, which he says will stimulate domestic manufacturing and which critics say will make many consumer goods more expensive for Americans. He has called for a universal base tariff rate of 10 per cent on goods imported from all countries, with higher rates for imports from the most “problematic” on...

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has announced plans to challenge the recent oath-taking of MPAs on reserved seats, held at the Governor’s House, in court.

Twenty-five MPAs-elect of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa opposition were sworn into office on Sunday after KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi administered their oaths. The oath-taking issue has risen once again after the recent redistribution of reserved seats in the wake of a verdict by the Supreme Court’s constitutional bench that effectively took away the seats from the PTI and declared other political parties eligible for them. Kundi delivered a press conference following the swearing-in ceremony, where he highlighted that the government reneged on an agreement it had made with the opposition. “A formula of 6-5 was agreed upon and our opposition candidates withdrew,” the KP governor said. “All of them agreed that they will contest five seats — two will be contested by the JUI-F, two by the PPP, and the PML-N will for one. “The PTI founder [Imran Khan] then made a decision, and their information secretary said, ‘our Senate candidates are not in our control’. If your Senate candidates are not in control, then how are t...

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday met and appreciated Talha Ahmad, a young digital content creator, for his talent.

From July 16 to 20, security forces, in coordination with police, Levies, CTD, and district administration, conducted a successful intelligence-based operation in Malakand district against terrorists linked to the Indian proxy group Fitna al-Khawarij, the ISPR reported.

Pakistan’s Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi arrived in Kabul on Sunday for a one-day official visit, aiming to hold crucial talks with Afghan authorities on key bilateral issues, particularly border management, security cooperation, and the repatriation of Afghan nationals from Pakistan.

At least six people were killed and 12 others were injured when a bus overturned and fell into a ditch near Makli in Sindh’s Thatta district on Sunday morning, rescue officials said. According to the Edhi rescue service, the bus overturned near the Thatta Bypass, following which a rescue team reached the site of the incident and transported the injured to a hospital. “The bodies of the six victims were initially taken to a mortuary in Orangi Town,” the service said in a statement, adding that they were later transported to Edhi’s morgue in Karachi’s Sohrab Goth. The bus was carrying a group of picnickers from Karachi to Keenjhar Lake when it overturned while taking a sharp turn, killing six passengers and injuring dozens others, state-owned Associated Press of Pakistan reported. “Local authorities and rescue teams were quick to respond, reaching the crash site within minutes. The injured were rushed to Karachi hospitals, with several reported to be in critical condition,” it said. In another incident, at leas...

Security forces killed four terrorists during an operation in Balochistan’s Kalat district, the military’s media wing said in a statement on Sunday. There has been an increase in the frequency of attacks against security forces in Balochistan in recent times. Earlier this week, three people were killed and seven others were injured as a passenger bus was fired upon in Kalat. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement that the intelligence-based operation took place on the night of July 19-20, upon the “reported presence of terrorists belonging to Indian proxy, Fitna al Hindustan”. In May this year, the government designated all terrorist organisations in Balochistan as Fitna-Al-Hindu­stan. “During the conduct of [the] operation, [our] own forces effectively engaged the terrorists’ location, and after an intense fire exchange, four Indian sponsored terrorists were sent to hell,” the statement read. According to the ISPR, weapons, ammunition and explosives were recovered from the dead terror...

Deputy Prime Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar will visit the United States next week to attend the high-level signature events of Pakistan’s UN Security Council (UNSC) Presidency in New York, as well as for certain engagements in Washington.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met PML-N President Nawaz Sharif in Murree on Sunday to discuss the overall political situation in the country.

Seven police personnel of two police stations were allegedly abducted in two separate incidents on Sunday while patrolling in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s South Waziristan district, police said. Upper South Waziristan District Police Officer (DPO) Arshad Khan confirmed the incident and said efforts are underway to locate the policemen who went missing during routine patrolling. “Seven police personnel were patrolling when unidentified individuals took them away,” DPO Arshad told Dawn.com. He said three policemen — Insaf, Abid and Ismail — were on patrol in the limits of Ladha police station when they went missing. In a separate but similar incident, four policemen went missing from Tanga Chagmalai in the limits of Sarwakai police station. They include sub-inspector Abdul Khaliq, and constables Irfanullah, Habibullah and Imran. The police officer said no information has been received about the missing policemen and a search operation is underway to locate them. Pakistan has witnessed an uptick in terror activities ove...

A series of powerful earthquakes struck off the coast of Russia’s far east on Sunday, triggering a tsunami alert, the US Geological Survey said. Earlier 5.0-magnitude and 6.7-magnitude earthquakes did not initially trigger a tsunami alert, but were followed by a 7.4-magnitude quake at 0849 GMT (1:49pm PKT), prompting the USGS to warn that “hazardous tsunami waves are forecast for some coasts”. The USGS said it expected waves of between 30 centimetres and one metre (up to 3.3 feet) on Russian coasts, and less than 30cm (one foot) in Japan and the US state of Hawaii. The epicentre of the quakes was in the Pacific Ocean, around 150 kilometres east of the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, it said. The initial earthquakes were followed by several aftershocks, including another 6.7-magnitude quake, said USGS. Russia’s emergency situations ministry wrote on Telegram that it expected waves of up to 60cm in the Commander Islands in the southwestern part of the Bering Sea, and waves of 15 to 40cm in the Kamchatka penin...

A cricket match between Indian and Pakistani veteran players — part of the World Championship of Legends (WCL) — was called off after Indian players, including Shikhar Dhawan, refused to play against Pakistan, citing recent “geopolitical tensions” between the two nations, according to a statement issued by WCL on Sunday. The WCL is an international cricket league where retired, non-contracted international players return to competitive T20 cricket, according to the league’s website. The tournament commenced on July 18 and is being held in Birmingham, England. In a statement posted on X, WCL organisers announced that, “We have decided to call off the India vs Pakistan match,” saying that the match between the two countries was planned in light of recent positive development between India and Pakistan, indicating improved bilateral sporting ties. The statement cited a recent volleyball match between the rival nations and speculations around Pakistan’s hockey team touring India later this year. On Friday, Pakist...

Security forces in Balochistan have killed four terrorists belonging to the group "Fitna-e-Hindustan" during a successful operation, according to sources.

The government has decided to install 3,100 more surveillance cameras across Islamabad to further expand and enhance the Safe City system.